The Pansy's are Planted

It probably doesn’t come as a surprise to most of you that I keep a gardening journal. This year I am proud to say that I am further along with my gardening than I think I have ever been at this time of year. I was outside again today cleaning up the gardens and even planted some pansy’s and a primrose. I have planted pansy's as early as the first week in April in the past but I've never planted them this early here in Central Pennsylvania.

Tonight while we were eating supper I had the news tuned in and heard that we are supposed to get snow tomorrow… I don’t think my pansy’s are going to like that at all.

Anyone else going to have frozen plants come Monday morning?

Now that I look at the photo again I see my cast iron urn that sits on my front porch is a bit more shabby than I thought, it could definately use another coat of paint.

Bad Dog!!!

I have only ever had 2 dogs in my lifetime and both of them are currently living with my husband and I. Both of these terriers enjoy a game of “running” anytime they get the opportunity.

Earlier this week I put both dogs out on a lead in the front yard to enjoy the sunshine while I was puttering in the gardens raking up leaves, etc. We were out for about an hour when all of a sudden I looked up and Stewart broke free of the chain and was headed to the back yard and freedom!

Funny thing is that he doesn’t run down the street, he more or less stays in the back yards of the neighbors and our house but he absolutely will not come to me at all…. If I call him he takes one look at me and runs as fast as he can away from me. He usually is close enough for me to see where he is but will not come home and when he does he is ALWAYS covered in mud and plant material has attached to his fur….ugh….He likes to explore the farmers field behind our house as well.

Both my dogs play this game although the older one usually takes off and when I decide to go after him he will sit when commanded and come back home. But he has been almost as bad as Stewie in his younger years.

Now I know of many dogs who are content to hang out with their people and can come and go with no temptation to run away. What’s with Stewie? I’m afraid it’s going to be a long summer of worrying about my dog getting hit by a car.

First Signs of Spring

Last weekend I was pleasantly surprised by an almost warm day on Saturday. I actually went outside and cleaned up one of my flower beds and burned some leaves.

This week I spotted my first robin of the season. That is always a big thrill for me and I usually keep track of the date of my first robin spotting of the season each year. Today another Saturday with nice weather and I once again planned to spend part of my day raking leaves and burning them and clearing out some of the garden beds. Right now my back is killing me but I am satisfied with the progress I made today outside.

I took this photo of my first crocus that is blooming. My neighbor always seems to have hundreds blooming before I get any blooms so by the time I get any blooms I feel confident that spring can't be far away.

What are your favorite signs of spring that you look forward to each year?

I Love My Job.... most days

Today was one of those days that I love my job. I am an administrator at a church and most days its a great job. It takes me less than 5 minutes from the time I leave my house till I put the key in my office door, I don't have to punch a clock and I can work my 40 hours any time I want throughout the week, there is no dress code and I can wear flip flops to work any time I want! I get to be creative and do bulletin board displays and play graphic artist so, for me, it's an ideal job. On the down side, it isn't a very financially lucrative job but there isn't a whole lot of stress and did I mention I can wear flip flops if I want!

Today was a good day because I got to hire help for me. Since our secretary left in December I have been doing her job as well as my own. Unfortunately the pile of projects that I want to get to has been growing so it was time to call for help. The person I hired is very sweet and pleasant and has a gift of compassion (which I lack....that's why I'm happy that my office is in the basement). And the good news is that after her first day she is coming back on Monday!

Round Robin

I'm a member of a Yahoo group that is for crazy quilters. One of the activities on that list to participate in is a round robin. Here's how it works.... I piece a 10" crazy quilt block and I send it off to a designated person and she stitches a couple seams and a patch and she sends it to the next person. Each month the blocks rotate to the next person, so every month I'll have a different block to work on. This is my first round robin and I'm anxious to begin. Here is my block before anyone works on it.

I will also send a booklet with my block telling my group who I am and what I'm going to do with my block. This particular round robin is a color study in blue and only blue is allowed on the block. That works great for me because when I get it back I'm going to frame it and hang it in my blue bedroom! Everyone gets to write in the booklet and often the ladies photograph the blocks they are working on so I might get to see it again before it is completed.

So stay tuned to see what happens to my block!!!

Spring Break

This week is spring break at my daughter’s college and so I took the day off work to hang out with her. This was the only day of the week she could fit me in! She likes to eat at Olive Garden and there is one about an hour from our home so we combined that trip with some shopping. That’s the other thing she likes to do with me because after all we have that huge tree out back filled with money!!!!

We started our day at Macy's on the slim chance they would have a pair of black pointed-toe high heeled shoes small enough to fit her.... no luck today.... then off to TJ Maxx where I bought a few things in the housewares department and she hit up the clothes, she found shirts and a dress and a purse. We had lunch at Olive Garden and then I wanted to go to a flea market type shop that is huge with about 125 vendors. She was pretty sure she was not going to like it, but I was feeling no sympathy since I had spent enough money at TJ Maxx that she had to show some interest where I wanted to shop. So having been there before I knew some booths I particularly wanted to visit, but she kept telling me to slow down... there were a lot of shiny things there that caught her attention.

We met a lovely woman named Chi (like the tea) who had some fun name-brand clothes and lots that were small enough to fit a size 0. So we ended up with a very pretty beaded Jessica McClintock dress that she will be able to wear to next months formal for only $30 and some J Crew pants and tops that were amazingly cheap! She found a bracelet and ended up having a really good time.

Here is Molly looking through vintage purses at one of the shops. The other photo is one of my favorite shops. The owner had a lot of those vintage aprons from the 50's hanging everywhere. Although I didn't need any, they caught my attention. In fact it wasn't until I got home and downloaded the photos that I noticed the silver trays on the floor that I missed.

I'm back to work tomorrow....and glad that spring break is only once a year...

Nesting

It's that time of year again.... I can tell that spring is just around the corner because I start to get the urge to move furniture and redecorate. Last week I went to the local furniture store and purchased a chair for the living room... I am thinking that the furniture stores must understand about this need to decorate this time of year and so in order to help us out, they run sales!

This morning I found myself contemplating robin's egg blue for the dining room....and I'm sure I just painted in there less than 3 years ago. I've got plenty to do around here, I just can't figure out that strong urge to decorate. Anyone else moving furniture this weekend? Here's a photo of the sunroom now that the furniture has been moved around.